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Instinct

Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular complex behavior.
The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a clearly defined stimulus.
Any behavior is instinctive if it is performed without being based upon prior experience, and is therefore an expression of innate biological factors. Sea turtles, newly hatched on a beach, will automatically move toward the ocean. A joey climbs into its mother's pouch upon being born. Honeybees communicate by dancing in the direction of a food source without formal instruction. Other examples include animal fighting, animal courtship behavior, internal escape functions, and the building of nests. All of these are examples of complex behaviors and are thus substantially different from simple reflex behaviors.
An instinct should be distinguished from a reflex, which is a simple response of an organism to a specific stimulus, such as the contraction of the pupil in response to bright light or the spasmodic movement of the lower leg when the knee is tapped. Instincts, in contrast, are inborn complex patterns of behavior that must exist in every member of the species and that cannot be overcome by force of will. However, the absence of volitional capacity must not be confused with an inability to modify fixed action patterns. For example, people may be able to modify a stimulated fixed action pattern by consciously recognizing the point of its activation and simply stop doing it, whereas animals without a sufficiently strong volitional capacity may not be able to disengage from their fixed action patterns, once activated.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Instinct

in′stingkt, n. impulse: an involuntary prompting to action: intuition: the mental aspect of those actions which take rank between unconscious reflex activities and intelligent conduct: the natural impulse by which animals are guided apparently independent of reason or experience.—adj.(in-stingkt′) instigated or incited: moved: animated.—adj.Instinc′tive, prompted by instinct: involuntary: acting according to or determined by natural impulse.—adv.Instinc′tively.—n.Instinctiv′ity (rare). [L. instinctus—instinguĕre, to instigate.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Instinct

Stereotyped patterns of response, characteristic of a given species, that have been phylogenetically adapted to a specific type of situation.